And you're right if they were in the East their chances would be better, but they're not, they're in the West, so rocket fans need to hope the ping-pong balls fall right for them at the next draft lottery so they can continue to get better.

Houston doesn't need to go through the draft to grab their other star. They will have enough cap room to offer a max contract to a free agent this summer ($20 Million in cap space). Their young talent and attractiveness as a big city market will make them a top free agent destination this summer. I think the best position for them to be in would be to slide in somewhere between the 7th and 10th position in the West. It would show a potential free agent that they are a good squad that is one piece away from contending for championships. Andrew Bynum's max contract would be 5 years, $100M. Correct me if I'm wrong, but $100M/5yrs = $20M per year.